Day 5: Tuesday, Valentine's Day @ Vina del Mar

Yay! Better weather! We woke late, of course, shared Valentine’s greetings and then dressed for lunch. As we walked down the road to a place for lunch, we noticed that clouds were on the horizon. Mike said we should turn back because he knew that if I were in a restaurant and watched the sun go away and had no time to sit in it, I would unhappy - and he did not like the idea of what mood might follow. So, we turned around, put on our bathing suits and parked ourselves on the upper deck of the hotel where we enjoyed sun for a while, but then saw the clouds come in (sometimes Mike knows what he’s talking about). We adjourned downstairs to the hotel coffee shop and had another overpriced lunch. Oh well – worth it for the little bit of sun. Afterwards, it looked like the sun was returning, so Mike went to book a massage while I went back to the deck and sunned myself. It was a beautiful afternoon. At 6pm I ventured to the gym, where I was accosted by what I think was a complementary personal trainer. He spoke no English except for numbers, and I at least understand those in Spanish. So he had me going from machine to machine before he let me on the elliptical. Not sure why… I did not ask for help and he did not ask for pay… but I got a pretty good workout. Mike headed over to the casino while I was sweating it up. I didn’t ask how much he spent but I know he didn’t win. However, I also know he did not lose much either. We had 9:30 dinner reservations at Delicious del Mar which we’d heard good things about – from Fodor’s. We sat out on the hotel deck first for a glass of champagne, and the weather was so nice. Lots more people enjoying themselves, taking lots of pictures of the sunset. At the restaurant, it was a Valentine’s special. So we started with Pisco sours. Then moved onto the “house” wine and special meal. After so many wonderful culinary experiences here, I was so disappointed in this horrid meal. I felt quite ill after the first course. Everything was seafood and covered in cream - lots of cream. By dessert I was ready to go home. Luckily, every part of Valentine’s Day before that was lovely.